Not ever.
And certainly not this late at night.
I stood up and set my plate down before stomping to the steps.
The bright blue car crawled to a halt, and I lifted my hand to block the bright lights from blinding me. I couldn’t see who it was behind the wheel, but I certainly didn’t recognize the car. Almost everyone I knew drove a truck as big as mine and they were never clean.
The engine was turned off and the door swung open.
The moment I saw the long, wheat-colored curls, my stomach clenched.
“Hi.” Grace waved nervously, still standing at the car door.
“Hi,” I replied, surprised she was here.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you …” she started mumbling, looking everywhere but at me.
I wish I could read her thoughts. The way she looked up at the house, I wish it was in better shape. While it was still standing and strong, she’d seen better days. The paint was peeling. One of the shutters didn’t open. The porch railing was missing a section where it had rotted away, and the gardens were filled with more weeds than actual plants.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, thankful I’d had time to shower. After spending the afternoon fixing the pump on the trough and dealing with a stubborn bull who didn’t want to stay where he was supposed to, I’d been covered from head to toe in mud, slime, and shit. It hadn’t been pretty and smelt worse, but it was a reality in my day.
“Not at all,” I managed to choke out. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’m fine thanks,” Grace replied as she closed the door and stepped toward me.
She was fucking beautiful.
When I’d found her the other day in her running gear with blood on her leg and misery written all over her face, I’d thought she was stunning. But now. I had no words.
Grace was all soft curves and sweetness. She was a wet dream wrapped in a pair of cutoffs. Her denim shorts were short and showed off those creamy thighs I’d been imagining wrapped around my waist. The tight white tank was molded to her curves making her tits look even better than I’d remembered. But the worn, dusty cowboy boots had me thinking things I definitely shouldn’t.
“I can go,” Grace offered, and I knew I’d missed something.
“No!” I countered quickly, bounding down the steps, ignoring the pebbles digging into my bare feet.
“Are you sure?” Grace asked as I stopped right in front of her.
She was a vision yet so much more than that. Seeing her like this, seeing the way her perfect pink lips glistened had me adding the image to my spank bank.
“Stay,” I demanded, reaching for her hand.
The other evening when I’d carried her across the lawn, I didn’t want to let her go. With her tits pillowed against my chest and the way she snuggled against me, I knew instantly I wanted to keep her. Having her show up here looking the way she did had me scrambling.
“I’ve got something for you,” Grace offered with a wide smile that made that spot on my chest ache.
“You didn’t have to …”
“I know. But you helped me, and I wanted to say thank you.”
Grace moved around me and opened the passenger door before leaning in. The further she leaned forward, the tighter her shorts pulled across her peach-shaped ass. I bit my fist to stop myself from doing something stupid. Shame it didn’t stop the dumb ass words from flying from my mouth.
“I’m not taking your money, Grace,” I reminded her.
At my comment, Grace straightened her spine, put her hands on her hips, and rolled her eyes. My palm itched to spank her sexy ass for that eye roll, but she wasn’t mine. Not yet anyway.
“You made that very clear the other day, Cole.”
“Good. As long as that’s cleared up.”
